James Franco Covers 'The Advocate' October 2010

Here’s what the 32-year-old actor, who plays iconic gay poet Allen Ginsberg in Howl, had to share:

On whether he’d admit if he were gay: “Sure, I’d tell you if I was. I guess the reason I wouldn’t is because I’d be worried that it would hurt my career. I suppose that’s the reason one wouldn’t do that, right? But no, that wouldn’t be something that would deter me. I’m going to do projects that I want to do. Everyone thinks I’m a stoner, and some people think I’m gay because I’ve played these gay roles. That’s what people think, but it’s not true. I don’t smoke pot. I’m not gay…”

On why he chooses to portray gay characters: “In this history of cinema, there are so many heterosexual love stories. It’s so hammered, so done. It’s just not that interesting to me. It’s more interesting to me to play roles and relationships that haven’t been portrayed as often.”

On how nothing would stop him from taking the role in Howl: “You want to know what my agents did try to talk me out of? General Hospital. They didn’t think me acting in a soap opera was the greatest idea. But they know that I’ve always wanted to do a movie about the Beats, so no one tried to stop me from playing Allen Ginsberg.”